Gunavataras

Gunavataras

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.298-313
New York, December 20, 1966

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Prabhupada:

matsya, kurma, raghunatha, nrsimha, vamana
varahadi-lekha yanra na yaya ganana

Now Lord Caitanya is describing about lilavatara. So they are some of the names of the lilavatara. There are innumerable lilavatara, but these are some of the names: Matsya, Kurma, Raghunatha, Nrsimha, Vamana, Varahadi. In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a verse in which some of the names of the lilavatara is mentioned:

matsyasva-kacchapa-nrsimha-varaha-hamsa-
rajanya-vipra-vibudhesu krtavatarah
tvam pasi nas tribhuvanam ca tathadhunesa
bharam bhuvo hara yaduttama vandanam te

So all these incarnations, especially this lilavatara, lila incarnation, they come, they descend on this material world, to settle up some disturbances by the demons. There are two classes of men in this world, the deva and the asura. Deva means those who are devotees, those who are conscious, Krsna conscious, they are called deva, gods, demigods. And demigod does not mean that something extraordinary. They are also living entities like us, but they are completely Krsna conscious, and therefore they have got unlimited power, and they are entrusted with some of the management of this material world. They are called deva. And the asuras, demons, atheists, they are not entrusted. They are simply meant for creating disturbances. So when the atheist class, the number of atheist class, increases, at that time it becomes intolerable for the devas and the gods to remain here because the asuras can create much disturbances. So at that time, indrari-vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge [SB 1.3.28]. Indrari. Indra means the head of the demigods. When his enemies are increased and create disturbance, these lilavataras, they come. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam: [Bg. 4.8] "Just to deliver the faithful and to annihilate the unfaithful," yuge yuge sambhavami, "I come in every millennium."

 

lilavatarera kailun dig-darasana
gunavatarera ebe suna vivarana

Now Lord Caitanya says, "I have mentioned some of the lilavatara. Now, Sanatana, you just hear from Me about gunavatara." Gunavatara means the incarnation of the material qualities. There are three qualities in the material world: goodness, passion and ignorance. So each quality is controlled by the Supreme Lord Himself by His expansion of different incarnation. Brahma, visnu, siva -- tina guna avatara. Now on these three qualities, material modes of nature, the heads are Brahma-Brahma, the first living creature, Brahma -- and Visnu -- Visnu, God Himself -- and Siva, Lord Siva. Siva's position is between Brahma and Visnu. Visnu is God, and Brahma is living entity. Gradation. Living entities, they are also parts and parcels of God. Siva is also part and parcel of God. Visnu is also part and parcel of God. But there are degrees of power. That we have already discussed. Krsna is cent percent, Visnu is ninety-four percent, Siva is eighty-four percent, and we living entities, we are seventy-eight percent. So tri-guna angikari' kare srsty-adi-vyavahara. They have nothing to do with these material modes of nature. Just like a person in charge of the criminal department or jail department, but we should not think that he is also one of the prisoners because he is in charge of the jail department. No. Similarly, Siva, Lord Siva, he is in charge of the modes of ignorance, but he is not ignorant. He is the most enlightened devotee of Lord. He has got a parampara, disciplic succession, which is called Visnu Svami-sampradaya. There are four sampradayas of great devotees of Lord: one from Brahma, one from Siva, and one from Laksmi, and one from the Kumaras. So Lord Siva, although he is in charge of the department of the modes of ignorance, but he is not ignorant. You should not mistake that. Similarly, Brahma is also in charge of this passionate department, creative initiation. This, whatever we are creating, the creative incentive, that is from Brahma, passion. And ignorance, they neither create... They simply destroy. And Visnu, He has taken the charge of maintenance, because without God nobody can maintain us. Eko bahunam vidadhati kaman: "One personality, one eternal personality, He maintains all other plural eternities." We are also eternities, but we are maintained by Visnu. Even Brahma is also maintained by Visnu, and Siva is also maintained by Visnu. So these are three qualitative incarnations: Brahma, Visnu and Siva.

bhakti-misra-krta-punye kona jivottama
rajo-gune vibhavita kari' tanra mana

Now, what is the constitution of Brahma? Brahma... Just there are so many innumerable living entities. If some of them, they are devotee, but they want to enjoy this material world... They want to enjoy. So they are devotee for taking some favor for God and want to enjoy this material world. He is called Brahma. Brahma's constitutional position is that.

bhakti-misra-krta-punye kona jivottama
rajo-gune vibhavita kari' tanra mana
garbhodakasayi-dvara sakti sancari'
vyasti srsti kare krsna brahma-rupa dhari'

Sometimes such pious living entities are not available, so sometimes Krsna Himself becomes Brahma and for maintenance, for creation...

bhasvan yathasma-sakalesu nijesu tejah
sviyam kiyat prakatayaty api tadvad atra
brahma ya esa jagad-anda-vidhana-karta
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

Now, Brahma's description is given here, that bhasvan yathasma-sakalesu nijesu tejah. Just like valuable stone... The example is very nice, valuable stone, just like diamond. Diamond has got power to illuminate. And what is this diamond? The diamond is made by the interaction of sunshine. All these valuable stones, they are products of sunshine. So as the diamond has got power of shining power, it is derived from the sun, or diamond, the moon also, it derives power from the sun, similarly, Brahma, although he is very powerful, he is known as creator of this universe, but he is just like diamond. He inherits power from the Supreme Lord, so he becomes powerful. Bhasvan yathasma-sakalesu nijesu tejah. That is simply a bit of power. Just like a diamond, diamond also illuminating, but it is not original luminous. Original luminous is sun, and the illumination expanded by diamond is not so valuable as the sunshine. Similarly, Brahma, although we see him so powerful, he has little power derived from the Supreme Lord. That is the example given here.

kona kalpe yadi yogya jiva nahi paya
apane isvara tabe amse 'brahma' haya

Kona kalpe. Kalpa means the duration of one creation. This material creation, bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19], it is created at a certain interval, and it stays for some time. Again it is annihilated. So again, at the time of creation, if somebody is not available, then the Supreme Lord Krsna, He becomes Brahma Himself.

yasyanghri-pankaja-rajo 'khila-loka-palair
mauly-uttamair dhrtam upasita-tirtha-tirtham
brahma bhavo 'ham api yasya kalah kalayah
sris codavahema ciram asya nrpasanam kva

So,

nijamsa-kalaya krsna tamo-guna angikari'
samhararthe maya-sange rudra-rupa dhari

Similarly, sometimes, when Siva is not available... Siva is available. Nijamsa-kalaya krsna tamo-guna angikari'. Now Krsna, the Lord Himself, when He accepts the management of these modes of ignorance, He is called Siva. So Siva, Siva is God, but because he is in the department of ignorance, therefore his name is Siva. He makes siva. Siva, another meaning of siva is "auspicious." These inauspicious persons who are in ignorance, for them, Siva worship, worship of Lord Siva, is recommended so that gradually they come to the modes of passion and goodness, and then they are liberated. So nijamsa-kalaya krsna tamo-guna angikari', samhararthe. But his business is destruction. When there is some destruction in this material world, you should know that is the action of Siva. Perhaps you have seen one statue that is very popular, sold in antique shops-Nataraja, dancing and fire, all round there is fire. When Siva begins to dance, his dance is very serious. As you dance, krsna-kirtana, so similarly Siva also dances for annihilation. There is fire. By his dancing, there will be fire. Samhararthe maya-sange rudra-rupa dhari. Maya-sange. He has got connection with this material energy, and he is meant for destruction. Material energy is under the, I mean to say, control of this Siva-rupa of Krsna. Therefore he is called father. He is called father, and the material energy is called mother. Father and mother, Durga.

maya-sanga-vikari rudra-bhinnabhinna rupa
jiva-tattva haya, nahe krsnera 'svarupa'

And because he has connection with this illusory energy, therefore he is not exactly God. God has nothing to do with this material energy, illusory energy. He is never illusioned. But Siva, Lord Siva, he has connection with Durga, the material energy. Therefore his position is between the living entity and Krsna.

Now Lord Caitanya is quoting one verse from Brahma-samhita about the real position of Siva:

dugdha yena amla-yoge dadhi-rupa dhare
dugdhantara vastu nahe, dugdha haite nare

A very nice example. Just like if you mix up with milk something sour and it turns into yogurt or curd, similarly, the difference between Siva and Lord Krsna is like that. He is Krsna, but because he is mixed up with this material energy, therefore he is something like that yogurt. So yogurt, the constitutional position of yogurt is nothing but milk, but it cannot become milk again. Once turned into yogurt, there is no possibility of turning into milk. Neither you can derive the benefit of milk from yogurt. Yogurt is used for some purpose; milk is used for some other purpose. Similarly, those who are worshipers of Siva, they cannot derive the same benefit as persons who are in Krsna consciousness. Just like you cannot derive the same benefit by drinking, by taking yogurt. If you require milk, if I supply you yogurt, it will give another, I mean to say, disturbance. Similarly, the distinction is given here, and He is quoting from Brahma-samhita, most authoritative literature in this connection.

ksiram yatha dadhi vikara-visesa-yogat
sanjayate na tu tatah prthag asti hetoh
 [Bs. 5.45]

Siva is not different from Krsna, but it is added with this material energy. Therefore Siva has turned into yogurt.

yah sambhutam api tatha samupaiti karyad
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

But somebody is required for destruction, so that destruction part is taken by Siva, and he is charge of this tamo-guna.

'siva'-maya-sakti-sangi, tamo-gunavesa
mayatita, gunatita 'visnu'-paramesa

Therefore Visnu and Siva, the difference is that Visnu is never in touch of this illusory energy, or material energy, but Siva is in intimate touch with the material energy. That is the difference between Siva and Visnu.

sivah sakti-yuktah sasvat
trilingo guna-samvrtah
vaikarikas taijasas ca

tamasas cety aham tridha
harir hi nirgunah saksat
purusah prakrteh parah

Now, Hari, Visnu is beyond this material world. That is accepted by Sankaracarya. Narayanah parah avyaktat. Narayana, Hari... Although Sankaracarya is impersonalist, but he has accepted Narayana, Hari, the Supreme Lord, as beyond this material infection. Narayanah parah avyaktat. And he has also agreed to accept Krsna. Sa bhagavan svayam krsnah. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krsna. It is accepted by Sankaracarya. Those who are reading the commentary by Sankaracarya on the Bhagavad-gita, he will find in the beginning of that narayanah parah. So it is also confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam that harir hi nirgunah saksat: "Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is beyond the touch of this material qualities." Therefore His body is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. His body is not made of this tri-guna. Our, this material body is made of these three gunas: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. Those who have got this body from the modes of goodness, they are called brahmanas, or the most intelligent persons. And those who have got their body from the modes of passion, they are called ksatriyas. They have got creative initiation. And those who are mixed, they are called vaisyas, or the mercantile community. And those who have got purely body from modes of ignorance, they are called sudras. So harir hi... But Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond this. He is transcendental. Harir hi nirgunah saksat purusah prakrteh parah.

Prakrteh parah means... Prakrti means nature. This material nature, He is beyond this material nature. Prakrteh parah.

sa sarva-guna upadrasta
tam bhajan nirguno bhavet

The advantage is that if you want to get release from the infection of these three gunas, three qualities, then you have to render devotional service to the Lord. That is Krsna consciousness. Nirguno bhavet. Nirguna, when there is mention of nirguna, nirguna does not mean quality-less. Nirguna means without these contaminous three qualities of material nature. There are transcendental qualities. Those transcendental qualities... You have got the list, twenty-six qualities of the devotee. Those are transcendental qualities. Those transcendental qualities are in God as well as in the living entity. But when the living entity comes in contact with material nature, those transcendental qualities are covered by the material qualities. So they are not manifested. But as soon as one becomes Krsna conscious, those transcendental qualities automatically develop. Because they are already there.

It is stated that... What is that? The idea is that these qualities are already there. Nitya-siddha krsna-bhakti sadhya kabhu naya. These qualities are not acquired. The transcendental qualities are not acquired. Rather, these material qualities are acquired. But transcendental qualities are there in minute particles. As the transcendental qualities are there in God, similarly, transcendental qualities are in living entities also. But when they are covered by these material qualities, the material qualities which we exhibit in the material world, that is acquired. But transcendental qualities are not acquired. So nitya-siddha krsna-bhakti sadhya kabhu naya. They are not acquired. Sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya. Those transcendental qualities again revive themself by this process: sravanadi-suddha-citte. As you purify your heart by this process of hearing transcendental messages from Godhead, as your heart becomes purified, those transcendental qualities automatically develop. And when fully developed, it is called nirguna, nirguna, without any material quality. That nirguna stage can be obtained, can be achieved, in touch with the nirguna, Krsna. Therefore it is stated, sa sarva-drg upadrasta tam bhajan. Bhajan. Bhajan means by rendering devotional service to Him, that Supreme Lord, you get revived your transcendental qualities. And when you revive your transcendental qualities, that means you are liberated, you are happy, you are transferred to the spiritual world.

Thank you very much. Any question? (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.298 -- New York, December 20, 1966

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